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Post-Abortion Syndrome (PAS)

Conflicting statements by various agencies

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Overview:

Although there have been hundreds of studies into Post Abortion Syndrome (PAS),
they have arrived at conflicting conclusions. Most, including those frequently
used to support court cases and potential legislation, are deeply flawed. Their data is unreliable
and contradictory. As a
result, various groups are able to readily find studies whose conclusions match their
political or religious views.

Groups that are strongly pro-choice. They
may be biased towards downscaling the incidence of PAS. They may minimize the seriousness of PAS to those women who
experience it.

Other groups are strongly pro-life. They may be biased towards the
belief that PAS affects millions of women, and is extremely serious.

The truth will never be known until valid studies into PAS are conducted in a
way that both of the above solitudes can accept the data.

A pro-choice position by Planned Parenthood:

They have a question and answer section on their home page about abortion. 1
Question 9 deals with PAS:

Question:

My friend and I were arguing about abortion, and she said she
heard that millions of women who have had abortions suffer from something called
"post-abortion syndrome," which she says is just like post-traumatic stress
syndrome. Is that true?

Answer:

No, it's not true. Post-traumatic stress disorder is
recognized as a legitimate psychological diagnosis by the American Psychiatric
Association. So-called "post-abortion syndrome" is not.

In fact, severe emotional disturbance after childbirth,
sometimes referred to as postpartum psychosis, occurs somewhat more frequently
than severe emotional disturbance after abortion. Interestingly, research has
shown that rates of post-partum psychosis decrease in societies that legalize
abortion.

Studies suggest that while severe emotional disturbance
following abortion is very rare, it is more likely for women who have

Delays in getting abortion.

Medical or genetic reasons to abort a wanted pregnancy.

Severe pre-existing or concurrent psychiatric illness.

Conflict over abortion.

That's why women get to carefully review their options before
having an abortion.

Despite overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary,
anti-choice organizations continue to spread the false idea that it is common
for abortion to have severe, emotionally negative effects. The fact is that
anti-abortion groups have invented this so-called post-abortion syndrome to
further their efforts to make abortion illegal and unsafe. The anti-choice
studies that claim to prove its existence are very flawed. For example, the
authors of the studies only interview women who claim to have emotional problems
after abortion. They do not interview women who feel relief, which is the most
common emotional response of women who have an abortion in the first-trimester
--
nearly 90 percent of all abortions happen during the first trimester of
pregnancy.

A pro-life position by various agencies and websites:

The vast majority of pro-life groups emphasize that millions of women
experience PAS.

"All About Life Challenges" is sponsored by AllAboutGOD.com in
Colorado Springs, CO. 2 An anonymous author writes:

"While the medical community may argue as to the validity of it, as
a former Pro-choice believer I can assure you it is real. After the
initial tears of despair from the emotional loss and the physical pain
are gone, the decision to end a life haunts you. Was it a boy? Was it a
girl? How old would he or she be today? If only… Question after
question, and reminder after reminder, bring you deeper into despair."

"Post-abortion Syndrome victims often deny having abortions due to
the guilt and depression associated with it. This makes documentation of
it, also known as Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome, very difficult."

"Millions of women have had abortions only to discover an emotional
dilemma that won't go away. Post-abortion Syndrome can affect men as
well as women. That's right -- men too can experience the symptoms of it
years after the abortion."

"Post-abortion Syndrome may require a long period of recovery.
Thoughts may return and you may doubt God's forgiveness; however, be
assured God keeps His word. Make time to get to know God and His Son,
Jesus."

"Knowing the Creator of the universe forgives us when we ask, helps
us to forgive ourselves. Though you may still feel sad at times for the
loss of your child, you can be sure that you will see them again!"

"Post-Abortion Syndrome is a form of post-traumatic stress disorder.
The process of making an abortion choice, experiencing the procedure and
living with the grief, pain and regret is certainly, at it's very core,
traumatic. As with any trauma, individuals often try to "forget" the
ordeal and deny or ignore any pain that may result. Many simply don't
relate their distress to the abortion experience. At some point,
however, memories resurface and the truth of this loss can no longer be
denied. During these moments, the pain of post-abortion syndrome reveals
itself in the hearts of millions of lives."

"If you can identify with more than two of these symptoms, it could
be that you are experiencing post-abortion syndrome."

Guilt

Anxiety

Psychological 'numbing'

Depression and thoughts of suicide

Anniversary syndrome: an increase of symptoms about the time of
anniversary of the abortion and/or the due date.

Re-experiencing the abortion via flashbacks.

Desire to conceive against as soon as possible.

Anxiety over whether they are still fertile & capable of a
successful pregnancy.

Inability to bond with present and/or future children.

Survival guilt

Eating disorders.

Alcohol or drug abuse.

Self-punishment or self-degrading behaviors.

Brief psychotic episode lasting up to two weeks.

A pro-voice position by Exhale:

Exhale created the first post-abortion talkline in 2002 that is
neither politically affiliated nor religiously-based. It is designed to support
women who have had an abortion, and their friends and family. It is a safe,
confidential, anonymous and non-judgmental phone line staffed by trained peer
counselors. In their first seven years of operation, they received over 18,000
calls.

They acknowledge that past studies were largely politically based. Some studies
did appear to show that abortion negatively impacted women's emotional health,
but their conclusions are unreliable because of severe methodological flaws. Two
decades of reviews -- from the 1989 study by the Surgeon General under President
Reagan to a 2008 study by the American Psychological Association, and a
2009 study published in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry have shown
that abortion, by itself, rarely causes severe negative mental health outcomes.

In a hearing before the National Institutes of Health, Aspen Baker --
co-founder of Exhale -- said:

"Today, more than ever, there is a great need for sound,
thorough research into women’s emotional well-being after an abortion: The
abortion procedure is so common, the families and communities impacted are so
diverse, the debate around abortion is so loud, and the overwhelming stigma ...
is so harmful that it is time for the National Institutes of Health to
proactively address the emotional needs of women who have abortions, by using
its support and resources to undertake and share sound, thorough research into
women’s real experiences. ... We need to provide women and men with the kind of
helpful, well-researched information that supports their well-being after an
abortion. We need sound, detailed research that addresses the broad range of
experiences and feelings people have around abortion, immediately afterward and
far into the future. We need research that reflects the real experiences of
people like the women and men who call Exhale to share their stories, receive
emotional support, and achieve emotional well-being." 4

A fundamentalist/evangelical Christian position:

AllAboutLifeChallenges.org takes the position that PAS is real and very common. They believe that many researchers are unwilling to study the syndrome because they "are terrified of political backlash" -- presumably from pro-choice groups.

They state that:

"The symptoms range from mild depression to suicidal thoughts and can also be linked to other emotional behaviors such as Eating Disorders, Drug or Alcohol Abuse, and Self Punishment. Millions of women have had abortions only to discover an emotional dilemma that won't go away. Post-abortion Syndrome can affect men as well as women. That's right -- men too can experience the symptoms of it [for] years after the abortion."5

Since the number of abortions in the U.S. are on the order of one million per year, in order for "millions of women" to have suffered or be suffering from PAS, it would have to be a very common phenomenon following abortions. This conflicts with the peer-reviewed studies described elsewhere on this site which have found no detectable level of PAS.

Their articles suggest to a woman suffering from PAS that she start by restoring their relationship with God. By asking God for forgiveness, they believe that Jesus will heal anyone suffering from PAS. They write:

"Post abortion stress syndrome may vary from woman to woman, but God is absolute! He has never and will never change! The medical community may shy away from studying the issue, but God has not. He will apply His grace to everyone who searches for it. Jesus wasn't exaggerating or using metaphor when He said, 'Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you' (Matthew 7:7).6

To our knowledge, there has never been a study of the effectiveness of asking God for forgiveness in alleviating emotional problems following an abortion.

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above
essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.